Q: I heard a lot about the partial solar eclipse that happened on Sunday night, but cloud-cover prevented us from seeing it. Are there any other interesting astronomical events coming up that we might be able to view?
A: On June 5, Venus makes a very rare crossing in front of the sun. This planetary transit only happens with the planets Mercury and Venus since they orbit the sun closer than Earth. Due to the tilt of the orbits of these planets, Mercury and Venus rarely travel directly across the sun. Transit of Venus is particularly rare, and always appears in a pair with eight years in between. In 2004, Venus crossed the lower portion of the sun and the event June 5, which is the second half of the current pair of Venus transit, will appear across the top portion of the sun. You should make an effort to try and see this Venus transit as the next one is more than a century away.
It is extremely dangerous to view the sun without eye protection and the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada, Okanagan chapter, is providing special solar viewing glasses free of charge. The society will gather for this rare event at Allan Brooks Nature Centre June 5 (5 to 8 p.m.). All are welcome to witness this astronomical event. Contact Raffaele Sachianca at 250-542-1360 for more information.
Q: What causes an early heat wave like the one we recently experienced?
A: A heat wave is caused by a system of higher atmospheric pressure. In a high pressure system, air from upper levels of the atmosphere descends and rotates outward. As it comes down, it becomes compressed, which increases its temperature and dries it out. The outward flow also makes it difficult for other systems to enter the area. Since clouds are kept out of the region, sunlight is strong and heats up the land even more. The combination of no wind, low humidity and unimpeded sunlight can heat up a given location to temperatures significantly higher than normal.
Q: I’ve noticed that new turtle crossing sign has been erected on Kalamalka Road near the Kal beach tennis courts in Coldstream. Does this mean there are a lot of turtles in the area? Also, turtles have a reputation of traveling fairly slowly. How long should I expect to wait for one to finish crossing the road?
A: Actually, the turtle crossing sign was erected because western painted turtle is a threatened species (blue-listed) and there is a known small population of them living in the lagoon near Kalavista Road. Under ideal conditions, adult turtles will mate and lay their eggs between early June and early July.
Painted turtles are very particular about where they bury their eggs and usually select warm, un-vegetated south-facing sites with dry, light textured soils.
The only ideal nesting sites adjacent to Kalavista Lagoon are across Kalamalka Road, hence the reason for the signs. Since they are a threatned species, should you have the good fortune to see them, on the road or otherwise, take the opportunity to pull over and watch.
You may not get this opportunity again! If you’re in a hurry, stop, carefully pick the turtle up by the edges of its shell and place it safely off the road in the direction that it was travelling.
Other turtle crossing signs include on Commonage Road, adjacent to Rose’s Pond, and at L&A and Reimer roads, opposite Cools Pond.
A photo contest is currently open to youth 14 years and under. Please encourage youth in your life to capture nature-themed photos that could be entered into the contest. Enter the photo contest by submitting up to three images every two weeks to atn.photocontest@gmail.com and include the photographer’s name and age and a title for the photos.
All Things Natural is a public education and community engagement project of Allan Brooks Nature Centre Society. If you have a question of nature that you’ve always wanted to know or recently wondered, please send your question via email to askanaturalist@gmail.com.
